Even though the Union government has approved conducting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2017 in Kannada, that may be of little help to students as they do not have study material in Kannada.
Following a letter from the state government, the Centre agreed to conduct NEET in Kannada. Students say that they would find it difficult to write NEET in Kannada as they have only studied English books.
In 2006, when the state introduced the Common Entrance Test in Kannada, only a few students opted for it. After that none of the entrance exams have been conducted in Kannada, according to sources in the Karnataka Examinations Authority.
Even in PU classes, science students are taught in English. No textbooks are available in Kannada for MBBS exams. “Other states have study material in their regional languages. Students in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and north Indian states have textbooks in their languages,” sources said.
President of the PU Lecturers’ Association Thimmaiah Purle said students would not be able to take NEET in Kannada. “Previously, the task of preparing textbooks in Kannada was assigned to the Kannada University, Hampi. However, as the books were full of discrepancies, the work had to be stopped midway,” he added.
Minister for Medical Education Dr Sharanprakash Patil said that attempts would be made to have textbooks in Kannada by the next academic year.
